Lapses
by RonaldWeasleyTheHero
Summary: Annie Leondhart supposed it was human nature to wonder about the kind of person they could be if their circumstances were different. But she knew for a fact that she was probably the only one that could see that person right in front of her eyes.


**_Armin Arlert The Hero here! and Yay! aruani oneshot for Aruani week...it may be a little...bad, but I loved writing it XD._**

**_enjoy! its not humorous like the others but you can't have humor all the time right? =)_**

* * *

She had never been this person, at least, that's what she thought. Somewhere inside her buried deep under the strict voice of her father, and the responsibilities of a mission that would no doubt soil her hands further with human blood, possibly lay someone good.

Someone that was capable of laughter and joy.

Of kindness.

That Annie Leondhardt may have existed once, but it had been far too long for her to grasp any memories of what she may have been like.

Sometimes, however, she saw glimpses...lapses.

She was supposed to be ruthless in her mission and relentless in her goals.

Unfortunately for them, the people who had so foolishly decided to burden a child with such horrific tasks had not realized she had failed from the very beginning.

She had told herself so many times to not get close, to never get attached. But she had almost easily accepted the sense of belonging that she had developed with the though she was still the lone-wolf. The girl who never smiled, who never laughed, whose single redeeming quality had been her ability to hurt others, whose only act of kindness was giving a suicidal idiot the tools he needed to get himself killed even faster.

The only times she could really see it, the person she may have been once, the person she could have been today was when he saw it too.

"Thank you, Annie. I don't think you know how much Eren appreciates all that you're doing for him."

He smiled at her handing her a canteen filled with water. She took it without a word of thanks and drunk it while wiping the sweat from her brow. There it was, Unbiased words of praise spilling from his mouth once again. As if she had done something that warranted it.

Why did he insist on sitting beside her? She was not the best conversationalist in the world, and she was hardly good company. But yet here he was. It was confusing to her, people liked Armin, he was easy to be around, he had friends, and in a way a family.

She on the other hand had acquaintances...coworkers.

"I've seen you two practice, you're both really good."

She swallowed, she knew that in normal conversations this was the part where she thanked him for his compliments but the words caught in her throat and she instead decided to give a simple hum of agreement.

"Mmm."

"You plan to join the Military Police once you graduate right? I know that a few of the rest plan to join as well, but we won't get to see much of each other will we?"

He spoke as if they had some sort of mutually agreed upon relationship, She didn't know what she had done to make him think so, she had never really reciprocated any of his attempts at trying to be closer to her. But then again she had never really rejected them either.

She liked it...to a degree, sometimes she forgot that she was human and that like any other human being she craved the contact, she craved the interactions.

Armin turned his attention from her to Eren at the far end of the training field who was waving him over, signaling that the Instructor was coming and that they should head back.

"I think Shadis is coming," He stood up and offered her a hand "Lets go back together, we don't want him to see us slacking off..."

Like always, he spoke for the both of them.

Us.

Together.

He was doing it again, talking like she was somehow involved in his life, as if they were a pair and she mattered.

She took his hand and stood up to her full height, "Alright..." She said, speaking for the first time in what felt like ages.

He stopped and blinked at her, looking surprised that she had spoken at all. And then he laughed and smiled luminously at her. For her? Because of her?

Some ridiculous part of her thought that may have been his goal from the start, to get any sort of response out of her, no matter how small or insignificant it may be. That somehow her words could cause someone, anyone, happiness. But that couldn't be it...That would be absurd.

They had strapped their gear as Shadis had instructed them and proceeded to be ushered into the forest for more practice with the 3DMG.

It was a welcome change for her, despite the fact that she was proficient in hand to hand combat and loved to utilize her moves against the other trainee's, she still very much enjoyed the more flexible style of practicing with the the gear.

She glanced to the right of her to see Armin struggling with his landings and sometimes missing his hooking targets all together.

She was keeping a close eye on him, just in case anything went south. The lack of talent he displayed with the 3DMG was astounding, considering how much he excelled in knowing everything about it. It was a wonder that he failed so epically at applying all his knowledge to the actual thing.

She didn't know what happened soon after that, but she did recognize his voice as he yelped and began to fall.

She turned her body in midair to face his direction.

He was falling...again.

Something was wrong though, usually he recovered in time to prevent himself from hitting the ground, but this time he was going down far too fast and he seemed far too panicked.

She could save him...She probably should, any normal person would at least attempt to do something.

Her eyes widened as she realized with startling urgency that he was still falling as she was here contemplating things...

Of course she should save him!

She let out a burst of gas and kicked off a nearby tree, her strong leg muscles combined with the massive output of gas allowed her to reach incredible speeds. When she finally reached him, she put out her arms allowing him to fall into them.

She grunted when she felt his weight fall into her. She was lucky that he was so incredibly light, She wasn't that physically strong, if he had been any heavier they might have both had a painful meeting with the ground.

She looked down at him as she flew off taking in his expression that was a mixture of panic and relief.

"Ha, thanks Annie..." He was breathing heavily, clutching his rapidly beating heart, "I knew you would save me..."

He said it with such a casual certainty, but Annie almost dropped him when she heard it.

How could he have known that?

There was no way he could have known that.

How did he know that when she didn't even know herself?

* * *

He was sitting beside her again, a textbook held in front of him about some past Commander's of

of the three branches of the military. He was rambling on about some of the random facts he knew about them that he read and the textbook itself had not included. She was distinctly aware of how often his knees brushed with hers, or how soft his hair was when he leaned over to show her something useless she would never need or care about.

"Annie..." He whispered into her ear, "Can I tell you something?"

She didn't say anything, knowing full well that he would tell her regardless of her permission.

"I have a book of the outside world...my family gave it to me when I was young."

She glanced sideways noticing how his cheeks were developing a slight color to them, "I'd like to show it to you sometimes...if you would like."

A book of the outside world huh?

Last time she checked those had been outlawed by the king. If he ever told the wrong person he could face execution. She wondered if he knew that?

No...He knew.

Everyone did, the royalty had made sure of that, even talking about things relating to the outside world could be met with death.

Yet here he was, casually informing her of the fact that he was in possession of something like that.

Did these things cross his mind? Had he even entertained the thought that she would tell somebody and he would be hanged?

Maybe he hadn't realized that he had just told her that he trusted her with his life?

She didn't try to resist it as she came, it was a slow process as her lips twitched and finally formed a small, barely noticeable smile.

In that moment she could see her, the Annie that would smile while nodding her head, the Annie that would be allowed to show her enthusiasm about the world that was kept from her.

She wondered how that Annie would react in this very moment?

If you take away the demanding father.

Maybe she would slowly reach for his face and stroke his cheek to stare into his eyes?

If you take away the horrors she had seen.

Maybe she would close her eyes and slowly lean in?

If you take away the mission, the death, the guilt, the warrior...

Maybe her lips would make contact with his...

When Annie Leondhart had snapped back to reality she realized was staring at the extremely surprised and deeply blushing Armin Arlert.

"An...nie?"

She stood up and walked away before he could say anything, a deep crimson coloring her pale cheeks,

She had always known that she could see it sometimes, the person she had thought she lost, but...she noticed with a smile that that person was slowly but surely being found.

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_**Like it? loved it? im waiting for your feedback guys**_


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